Pudsey St Lawrence fell to an eight-wicket loss against Savile Stars at the weekend after a dominating display from Stars’ bowler Mohammed Sayeed, writes AMITAI WINEHOUSE.

Sayeed took four wickets for only 27 runs as his side responded to Pudsey’s 135 by hitting 136-2. Atif Munir took the plaudits after a spectacular 76 in his time at the crease.

Last season’s A Division champions Halifax Direct started their campaign with a comfortable 35-run win against Cookridge A.

Hassan Patel sent Halifax on their way with a 44 run effort, cancelling out Neil Bonnington’s 53 for Cookridge. Tahir Raza added to Halifax’s efforts in spectacular fashion, taking five wickets for 14 runs, leaving Cookridge on 155 all out.

Shipley Providence (184) managed a 63 run win against Bradford Moor (121). Muzamal Shah, with 48 runs, put together their best performance of the day when batting.

Leeds Sikh suffered an eight wicket loss against Thornbury A, in part due to Kaleem Afzal’s taking of six wickets for only 28 runs. Sikh started off well, setting a decent target of 172 for Thornbury. The Bradfordian side responded ruthlessly, with Saad Abbas hitting 79 as his side romped to 177-2.

Pudsey Congs A performed no better than their local rivals, losing to Tong Park Esholt (165) by 80 runs.

Esholt’s Martin Cuthbertson hit 63 as Pudsey struggled to get into their battling rhythm, ultimately finishing on 85 all out. Farnley Hill (199-9) beat New Wortley (116) by one wicket. Elsewhere, in the B Division, Adel lost by 19 runs against Cookridge B, with Ahtsham Ellahi hitting 41.